Mary the Mother of Jesus

The Immaculate Deception

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr

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Series Code: MMJ

Program Code: MMJ000004


00:41 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
00:42 Father in heaven we thank You for the opportunity
00:47 of opening Your Holy Word.
00:49 We ask that as we do, Your Holy Spirit will be with us
00:54 to guide our thoughts, and to give us understanding.
00:58 We thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer
01:02 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
01:06 As we've seen in our previous lectures, the Bible has only a
01:15 limited number of things to say about Mary, the mother of Jesus.
01:20 In preparation for our study today it's necessary
01:25 to underline the fact that the Bible says nothing about where,
01:31 when, from whom, or how Mary was born.
01:37 We don't know the name of her parents,
01:41 and we don't know anything about her birth.
01:46 All we know is what Scripture has to say
01:50 about the birth of Jesus.
01:52 However, in Roman Catholic theology Mary is spoken of as
02:02 being different than us in two specific ways.
02:09 In fact in Roman Catholic theology, first of all,
02:13 it is taught that Mary was born immaculate.
02:18 In other words, she was born with the nature
02:21 of Adam before the fall.
02:24 She was born without a fallen human nature.
02:30 Secondly, in Roman Catholic theology we find the teaching
02:35 that Mary never actually committed any sin during
02:41 her life; no mortal sin and no venial sin.
02:46 And there are two reasons why the Roman Catholic Church
02:50 underlines these two ideas about Mary.
02:54 Why they teach that she was born without the fallen nature
02:59 of Adam, and why she never actually committed sin at all
03:05 during her lifetime.
03:06 And I would like to share with you, as we begin our study,
03:09 the two reasons why the Roman Catholic Church,
03:13 through its theologians primarily,
03:15 teaches these two ideas about Mary.
03:18 First of all I would like to read several statements from
03:24 the book, The Glories of Mary, of St. Alphonsus Liguori,
03:28 which we studied last time, and there might be a couple of
03:31 quotations also from other Roman Catholic sources as to why Mary
03:37 was born immaculate, and why she never sinned,
03:41 even though the Bible does not address this issue.
03:44 The first quotation is found in The Glories of Mary, page 295,
03:50 where we are told this:
04:06 I think that's pretty clear.
04:08 Once again, but how could Jesus Christ be said to be separated
04:12 from sinners if He had a mother who was a sinner?
04:17 On page 296 of, The Glories of Mary, St. Bridget is quoted
04:24 in the following fashion:
04:38 We're discovering that the reason why, in Roman Catholic
04:42 theology, Mary is spoken of as being born immaculate is
04:46 because if she wasn't she could not bring the immaculate
04:50 Jesus into the world.
04:52 On page 297 of the book, The Glories of Mary,
04:57 we find this statement:
05:16 Again on page 297 we find this statement:
05:38 Maybe two or three other statements, because this is
05:42 such an important point.
05:43 Mary had to be born immaculate in order to bring an immaculate
05:48 Son into the world.
05:50 So goes the argument.
05:51 On page 311 of the book, The Glories of Mary,
05:55 we find St. Peter Damian quoted, and he says this:
06:12 In other words, she had the nature of Adam before Adam
06:17 sinned, so that Jesus, in this view, could also be born
06:23 with the nature of Adam before Adam sinned.
06:27 Once again, The Glories of Mary, page 299,
06:32 we find this statement:
06:43 Those are the less serious sins.
07:03 In other words, Jesus the Perfect One, could not have a
07:06 mother who was a sinner in actual fact,
07:10 by committing actual sins, or by by having
07:14 the sinful nature of Adam.
07:17 One final quotation from a pamphlet published by the
07:20 Knights of Columbus.
07:22 The title of the pamphlet is, The Mother of Jesus, page 25.
07:27 Notice this statement:
07:48 It can't get any clearer than that.
07:51 Mary had the nature of Adam and Eve before the fall.
07:58 In other words, she was not born with a sinful nature,
08:02 and she never committed sin.
08:04 Now the first reason that we've noticed why the Roman Catholic
08:08 Church teaches that she had to be born immaculate,
08:11 and she could not have sinned, is because she had to be so
08:15 in order to bring into the world a Son who had the same
08:19 characteristics; who would not suffer the results of her sin
08:24 or of the nature of the sinful Adam.
08:27 But there's a second reason why Roman Catholic theology teaches
08:31 that Mary was born immaculate, and she actually
08:35 lived without committing sin, and that is in Roman Catholic
08:41 theology Mary died, and she remained in the tomb
08:47 for three days. Her body saw no corruption.
08:50 And then on the third day she was assumed to heaven.
08:54 And we're going to talk more about the dogmas about Mary
08:58 in Roman Catholicism a little bit later on in this series.
09:01 But they believe that Mary presently is standing before
09:07 her Son, and she is serving as advocate of the human race.
09:12 And, of course, there is no way that Mary could serve as the
09:17 advocate of the human race if she had been conceived in sin
09:22 and if she actually committed sin, because the righteousness
09:26 of Christ would destroy her.
09:28 Allow me to read you a couple of statements here
09:32 from Roman Catholic theologians.
09:34 This is from St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary,
09:37 page 293. He's quoting St. Anselm.
10:02 He also quotes St. Gregory.
10:05 And this is where you come to the specific point about Mary
10:09 not being able to serve as advocate of the human race
10:12 if she actually committed sin.
10:14 This is found in St. Alphonsus Liguori, page 289.
11:07 So first she had to be born immaculate, and live a life
11:12 without sin, because Jesus was going to come from her,
11:17 and He was going to have the same nature.
11:19 And secondly, in Roman Catholic theology, she was going to serve
11:24 as the mediatress, or the advocate of the human race,
11:27 and a sinner could not appear before the presence of God
11:31 to represent humanity.
11:33 In actually fact, the Bible teaches that we have a mediator
11:40 in heaven, Jesus Christ our high priest, who is sinless,
11:45 undefiled, and perfect, and therefore can
11:49 represent us before God.
11:50 You can read Hebrews 7:26.
11:54 It says that Jesus was separated from sinners.
11:57 Nowhere in the Bible will you find that Mary was born without
12:03 the fallen nature of Adam, and that she never actually
12:07 committed sin in her life.
12:08 This comes into the church as a result purely
12:12 of human tradition.
12:13 The Bible speaks about the birth and sinlessness of Jesus.
12:17 It does not speak about the birth and the sinless of Mary.
12:21 Now in other venues we have studied about the antichrist.
12:27 And I'm not going to get into a full study of the antichrist
12:30 in our lecture today.
12:32 We've studied, for example, about the little horn,
12:36 about the beast, about the harlot of Revelation 17,
12:40 the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2.
12:44 We've studied basically all of the antichrist passages
12:50 of Scripture previously.
12:52 And we've noticed several characteristics
12:55 about the antichrist.
12:56 It persecutes the saints of the Most High.
13:00 It speaks blasphemies against the Most High, in other words it
13:03 claims to have the power to forgive sins.
13:06 It claims to have God's representative on earth.
13:10 We noticed that this power rules for 1,260 years
13:15 after the Roman Empire is divided into ten kingdoms.
13:19 We noticed several characteristics
13:22 about the antichrist.
13:23 But there is one characteristic which is not contained in any
13:27 of these antichrist passages, like Revelation 13,
13:31 and Daniel 7, and Daniel 11, and Revelation 17,
13:37 and 2 Thessalonians 2.
13:38 There's one characteristic which is found in another passage
13:42 of the apostle John.
13:45 I would like to read that passage.
13:48 It's found in 1 John 4:1-3, 1 John 4:1-3. We're told here:
14:15 Now how can you test a spirit to see whether it's of God?
14:19 How can you understand whether a prophet truly speaks for God?
14:24 Notice verse 2:
14:40 And then verse 3 becomes even more explicit.
15:03 Every spirit that doesn't confess that Jesus Christ
15:07 has come in the flesh, according to this passage, is not only not
15:12 of God, but actually possesses the spirit of the antichrist.
15:18 And that's the reason why in John 1:14 we are told that:
15:39 In other words, Scripture tells us that Jesus came to this world
15:43 and He took flesh of our flesh, bone of our bones.
15:47 He took blood of our blood.
15:49 He became like one of us.
15:52 And according to this passage, anyone who does not believe
15:57 or teach that Jesus came in the flesh, cannot be of God.
16:01 In fact, this is the spirit of the antichrist.
16:05 Now the lecture today is not primarily about Mary.
16:10 The lecture today is primarily about Jesus.
16:14 But we had to introduce the lecture by speaking about Mary
16:19 because in Roman Catholic theology the idea is that Mary
16:23 was born with the unfallen nature of Adam, so that Jesus
16:28 could be born with the unfallen nature of Adam.
16:31 You know, a question which people ask me very frequently
16:36 is, do you believe that Jesus took the nature of Adam before
16:41 the fall, or do you believe that Jesus took the nature
16:44 of Adam after the fall?
16:46 And, of course, they want to work you into a corner.
16:49 And basically what I say is, I don't believe that Jesus took
16:54 the nature of Adam before the fall, and I don't believe that
16:59 Jesus took the nature of Adam immediately after the fall.
17:03 I believe that Jesus took the nature of Adam after the fall,
17:10 the nature of the Adam who was born again after he sinned.
17:16 In other words, Jesus took the regenerated
17:19 sinful nature of Adam.
17:21 In other words, Jesus did not come to this world with a
17:27 sinful nature of someone who had not been born again,
17:30 someone who had not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
17:33 It would have been impossible for Jesus to overcome,
17:37 so Scripture, I believe, teaches that Jesus took the nature
17:40 of the sinful Adam after Adam had been converted to God
17:45 after he committed his sin.
17:48 There's a passage that we find in Romans 8,
17:53 which is very significant.
17:54 And I would like to read several verses at the
17:57 beginning of Romans 8.
18:00 Actually, in this passage what is being done is there's a
18:06 comparison between Jesus, who came in the likeness of sinful
18:12 flesh, but through the Spirit lived a spiritual life of
18:15 victory over sin, and His followers who also
18:20 have a sinful nature, and by the power of the Holy Spirit
18:22 and by the power of the Holy Spirit,
18:24 they also overcome sin.
18:27 In other words, a parallel is being drawn between Jesus,
18:31 who took the likeness of sinful flesh, and by the power of the
18:36 Spirit gained the victory over sin,
18:38 and what should happen with His followers who have
18:41 a sinful nature, and through the power of the Holy Spirit
18:45 also can overcome sin in their lives?
18:48 Allow me to read this passage, and I'll explain a few
18:52 things as we go along.
19:05 Now are you following what this is saying?
19:08 Do we have flesh? Were we born in the flesh?
19:11 Of course we were.
19:13 But do we walk according to the flesh if we've been born again?
19:16 Absolutely not!
19:26 See, that's talking about the new birth.
19:29 Then we find in verse 3:
19:35 In other words, because of our fleshly sinful nature
19:39 the law could do nothing but what? but condemn us.
19:43 So the law could not save us. So it says:
20:08 According to this.
20:09 Let me ask you, did Jesus come in your and our flesh?
20:15 He most certainly did.
20:16 Did He battle with sin in that flesh?
20:19 He most certainly did.
20:21 But who guided and controlled His life?
20:23 The Spirit guided and controlled His life.
20:26 And He gained the total and complete victory over sin.
20:30 Now let me ask you, Is that a possibility
20:34 for the followers of Jesus?
20:36 It most certainly is.
20:38 Lets continue reading.
20:39 Verse 4. That the righteous requirement of the law might
20:45 be fulfilled in us.
20:47 See, now it goes on to speak about us.
20:49 Might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh,
20:54 but according to what? the Spirit.
20:56 As Jesus had the likeness of sinful flesh, but lived by the
21:01 power of the Spirit, we also in sinful flesh,
21:04 can live by the power of the Spirit.
21:07 That's the argument of the apostle Paul.
21:09 Notice once again verse 4, That the righteousness requirement
21:13 of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according
21:17 to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
21:19 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds
21:23 on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the
21:27 Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
21:28 Do you see the two modes of living?
21:31 You can live in the flesh, or you can live in the Spirit.
21:33 Jesus had the likeness of sinful flesh, but in sinful flesh
21:39 He lived by the power of whom? of the Holy Spirit.
21:43 Can we also have sinful flesh and live in the power
21:46 of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Certainly.
21:49 Verse 6. For to be carnally minded...
21:52 By the way, that word carnally is the same as flesh.
21:54 It's the same word for flesh in Greek.
21:57 So you could say, for the fleshly mind is death:
22:02 but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
22:06 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:
22:09 for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
22:14 So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
22:18 Let me ask you, was Jesus born in the likeness of sinful flesh
22:22 with a human nature that had not been regenerated by the power
22:25 of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely not!
22:27 Jesus could not have overcome, because He would have been
22:31 at enmity against the law of God.
22:33 There would be no way that He could obey if He simply
22:36 inherited sinful flesh.
22:38 He inherited sinful flesh regenerated by the power
22:42 of the Holy Spirit.
22:43 And then the apostle Paul says, But you are not in the flesh,...
22:48 Although we are. You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
22:53 if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
22:57 Now if anyone does not have the Spirit
23:00 of Christ, he is not His.
23:03 So Jesus took the nature of Adam after the fall,
23:08 the likeness of sinful flesh.
23:10 But through the power of the Holy Spirit
23:12 He overcame sin in His life.
23:15 He never committed even one sin in the sight of God.
23:20 Now lets notice a few other texts from the New Testament.
23:25 Hebrews 4:15. Go with me to Hebrews 4:15.
23:32 Did Jesus overcome sin as Adam before his fall,
23:39 or did Jesus come with the nature of Adam after the fall?
23:45 Well, I believe that Hebrews 4: 15 explains that Jesus
23:51 identifies with us more than He identifies
23:54 with the pre-fall Adam. Notice:
23:57 Adam's weaknesses.
24:04 Is that what it says?
24:07 That's not what it says.
24:08 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our..
24:18 Adam was, yet without sin.
24:21 It says that He was tempted in all things as what? as we are,
24:26 yet without sin. His connection, and His link is with us.
24:33 Notice also Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:14.
24:42 In as much then as the children,... That's us.
24:47 ...have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise
24:55 shared in the same; that through death He might destroy him
25:01 who had the power of death, that is, the devil.
25:05 Because the children had flesh and blood, He also partook
25:10 of what? He also partook of the same.
25:15 Notice Hebrews 2:11, 12, Hebrews 2:11, 12. It says:
25:36 Notice that God is going to bring many sons to glory.
25:45 God the Father is actually going to bring many sons to glory,
25:48 and He's going to use the captain of salvation to bring
25:51 those sons to glory.
25:53 Now notice verse 11.
26:12 Who calls us brethren? God the Father or Jesus?
26:16 According to this text it is Jesus.
26:17 So you notice that the Father actually uses Jesus as the
26:22 captain of our salvation to bring many sons to glory.
26:26 But God has a Son also.
26:28 And the sons are brothers and sisters of the Son.
26:32 Now notice once again verse 11.
26:35 For both He who sanctifies, and those who are being
26:38 sanctified are all of one: for which reason He is not
26:42 ashamed to call them brethren,
26:54 Because the brothers had flesh and blood,
26:57 He partook of the same.
26:59 Here we find that Jesus calls those who have joined
27:04 Him His brethren.
27:05 Now let me ask you, Is everyone in this world a brother
27:09 and a sister of Jesus? No.
27:13 This is a technical term which refers to those who have
27:18 been born with sinful flesh, but who have accepted
27:22 Jesus as Savior, have joined Him, and have become
27:25 His brothers and sisters through conversion.
27:28 Notice Mark 3:35, Mark 3:35.
27:35 The definition of Jesus as our brother.
27:39 And who are the brothers of Jesus?
27:42 It says here in Mark 3:35, Jesus is speaking:
27:50 Could a common, ordinary, unconverted
27:54 person do the will of God? Of course not.
28:01 According to Jesus what?
28:09 Notice that the word brother means someone who has been
28:13 converted and does the will of God.
28:15 So what does the Bible mean when it says that Jesus
28:18 became like His brethren?
28:19 In fact, let's read it in Hebrews 2:17, 18.
28:25 Did Jesus come to this world with the unregenerateD nature
28:29 of a thief, and a murderer, and a drunkard?
28:33 Of course not. He came to this world with a nature
28:37 like the nature His brethren possess when they
28:41 are converted to Jesus.
28:43 Notice Hebrews 2:17, 18.
28:49 How many things? What does the word all mean?
28:56 Do we need to debate the meaning of the word all?
29:09 How did Jesus come to this world?
29:13 He came into this world as what? as His brethren.
29:18 Are His brethren the converted or the unconverted?
29:21 The converted.
29:42 I'd like to read a series of statements,
29:45 very interesting statements, that we find in different
29:48 sources on this aspect of the nature of Christ.
29:52 The first one is found in Signs of the Times, May 16, 1895.
29:58 And the writer of this statement, of course,
30:00 is Ellen White. She says this:
30:03 She grasped what the Bible was talking about.
30:29 We think of Jesus as being too aloof of us.
30:32 And, by the way, in Roman Catholic theology Jesus is
30:36 aloof. That's the reason you have to go through Mary
30:41 to Jesus, because Mary is the human.
30:43 Mary is the loving mother.
30:45 Mary is the merciful mother.
30:47 Jesus is different than us.
30:50 See, He's the one who meets out justice
30:54 in Roman Catholic theology.
30:55 She continues saying: this is because...
30:59 The reason why we look at Jesus this way.
31:01 This is because we do not take in the fact of
31:06 His oneness with humanity.
31:09 Why do we think that Jesus can't sympathize with our
31:11 frailties and our weaknesses?
31:12 Because we don't realize that He is what? one with humanity.
31:43 That is a powerful statement.
31:45 Jesus can sympathize with us.
31:48 We can know that He understands us in our frailties,
31:52 and in our weaknesses.
31:53 And the power which He had to overcome is the same power that
31:56 we can have to overcome.
31:58 There is no excuse, in other words, for sin.
32:01 We can't say the devil made me do it.
32:04 My weak sinful flesh made me do it.
32:07 Is that the excuse that we're going to render God when we
32:11 get before His judgment seat?
32:14 Oh, you know, the flesh was too weak.
32:16 Do you know what Jesus is going to say?
32:18 But My Spirit was very strong.
32:20 See when you say that we can't overcome sin, you're not saying
32:25 that the flesh is weak, what you're saying is that God is not
32:28 powerful enough to give us the victory over sin.
32:31 You're saying that the flesh is more powerful
32:33 than the power of God.
32:37 Are you understanding what I'm saying?
32:38 Now notice once again another statement.
32:41 General Conference Bulletin, February 25, 1895.
32:45 Powerful statement.
32:57 Whose place did He take?
33:30 That is Adam.
33:56 Another statement in the Adventist Review and Sabbath
34:00 Herald, February 24, 1874.
34:14 Is that clear? Only by taking the place of whom? fallen Adam.
34:40 In the Youth's Instructor, December 20, 1900
34:45 we find this amazing statement. She says:
35:04 That's a powerful statement. Once again:
35:13 But He had the Spirit in His life.
35:15 And His Spirit gave Him the victory even over sinful flesh.
35:20 In other words, Jesus lived a perfect life in sinful flesh,
35:24 because He allowed the Spirit to dictate
35:27 the decisions of His life.
35:29 She continues saying:
35:37 Have you ever read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1?
35:42 Whom did Jesus descend from?
35:47 He descended from Abraham the liar.
35:51 He descended from Jacob the supplanter.
35:58 He descended from David the adulterer.
36:02 He descended from Rahab the harlot.
36:06 He descended from Ruth the Mohabitest.
36:09 She wasn't a bad lady, but she wasn't even an Israelite.
36:12 He descended from Manassa, one of the worst
36:17 and most wicked kings in the history of Israel.
36:20 And he also descended from Amon,
36:22 who was even worse than Manassa.
36:25 Jesus, in other words, received by heredity the characteristics
36:32 that these ancestors possessed.
36:35 He came with the likeness of sinful flesh,
36:38 but by the power of God, he overcame sin in sinful flesh.
36:44 You know, that is an extraordinary miracle of God,
36:48 that Jesus depended on divine power to overcome sin.
36:53 In that classic book, The Desire of Ages, page 49,
36:59 we find this amazing statement:
37:16 Are you digesting that part of that statement?
37:21 Did Jesus come with the unfallen nature of Adam
37:25 as it was in the garden of Eden? No. She says:
37:37 Here's the but.
38:20 Let me ask you, if Jesus came with a different nature than we
38:23 have, His brethren, His regenerated,
38:26 converted brethren.
38:27 If Jesus had a different nature than us, could He ever ask us
38:31 to follow His example? Absolutely not!
38:34 If Jesus had powers and resources that we do not have
38:38 access to, He could not ask us to overcome as He overcame.
38:42 You know, I use this example.
38:44 Supposing that Superman did exist,
38:46 and we know that he doesn't exist, of course.
38:48 And that he appeared here at the back door and he said,
38:51 Hello folks, how are you all doing this wonderful
38:54 Sabbath afternoon?
38:55 And then he says, Watch me!
39:00 And he says not only watch me, he says, follow me,
39:05 and he flies off into the heavens.
39:07 What would you say?
39:10 You'd say, Now wait a minute!
39:11 Follow me? Why couldn't we follow him?
39:13 Because he has powers that we don't have.
39:17 How could Jesus say, Follow Me, if Jesus had powers that we
39:23 do not have access to, if Jesus had a superior nature
39:27 to the nature that we receive when we are born again through
39:31 the power of the Holy Spirit?
39:32 Incidentally, Ellen White is not the only one who teaches
39:37 that Jesus took the nature of Adam after the fall,
39:40 after it had been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit.
39:43 Debateably the greatest theologian of the twentieth
39:47 century was called Carl Barth.
39:49 Maybe you haven't heard of him, but he wrote a series of books
39:52 called Church Dogmatics.
39:54 And this is what Carl Barth had to say about which nature
39:58 Jesus took upon Himself.
40:18 He continues saying:
40:48 Powerful statement by a theologian who is not
40:53 a Seventh-day Adventist.
40:54 And there are also other theologians who have similar
40:58 statements to this statement.
41:00 Now I'd like to read a couple of verses which have been greatly
41:05 debated by theologians.
41:07 And you know, they've tried to fix the translation by saying,
41:10 you know, that a person who is born of God does not continue
41:14 habitually to sin.
41:15 You know, they do all kinds of trying to fix the text.
41:20 But I want to read this statement as
41:22 it's found in the Bible.
41:23 1 John 3:8, 9, 1 John 3:8, 9.
41:30 Here John, the beloved disciple of Jesus says this:
41:55 And now notice this:
42:01 Is that talking about conversion? those who are
42:05 born of the water and of the Spirit? Absolutely!
42:15 Remember that!
42:21 And immediately when I read that, the first question that
42:24 comes to the minds of people, Well, Pastor Bohr,
42:26 are you perfect? And my answer is always, Far from it!
42:33 But listen, the reason I am not perfect is not because God
42:39 doesn't have the power to give me the victory and to make me
42:42 perfect, it's because I don't meet the conditions.
42:46 It's because I don't constantly come close to Jesus,
42:50 abide in Jesus, remain in Jesus.
42:53 In other words, it's no lack of the power of God; it's a lack of
42:58 submitting to Jesus as my Savior, and as my Lord.
43:02 And, by the way, the possibility of perfection does not hinge
43:06 on whether I am perfect or not.
43:08 It hinges on whether God has the power to make me perfect or not.
43:13 Notice 2 Peter 1:4.
43:18 Let me ask you, Did Jesus have access to the power of the
43:23 divine nature to overcome sin in His humanity?
43:27 Did Jesus have divine power? Yes, He did.
43:30 Did God give Him divine power to overcome sin in His life?
43:35 Constantly! Yes! He was born of the Spirit.
43:38 He actually grew up in the Spirit.
43:40 He was baptized by the Spirit.
43:42 He ministered by the Spirit.
43:43 He died by the Spirit.
43:45 He was resurrected by the Spirit.
43:47 In other words, the Spirit was in total control of His life
43:50 from beginning to end.
43:51 And so it can be with us if we meet the same conditions.
43:55 Notice 2 Peter 1:4.
44:06 What has God given us? He has...
44:15 Who is you? That's us! Yes!
44:34 Can we have a divine nature?
44:36 Can we receive the power of the divine nature of Jesus?
44:40 Yes, we can! Can it lead our human nature to overcome
44:45 the power of sin? Absolutely!
44:48 You know, we all know about the ladder which is mentioned
44:54 in actually two places in Genesis 28, and also John 1.
45:01 That ladder is Jesus.
45:04 We've already noticed that in Roman Catholic theology
45:06 the ladder is Mary.
45:07 She's the bridge between heaven and earth.
45:10 Because Jesus is really the advocate of justice.
45:13 Mary is the advocate of mercy.
45:16 Well, my Bible tells me that Jesus is the advocate of mercy,
45:19 and He's also the advocate of justice.
45:22 Now you say, Why can't Mary be the advocate?
45:27 Why can't she be the ladder?
45:28 It's very, very simple.
45:30 The ladder, we are told, was planted firmly on the earth.
45:34 And the top of the ladder reached the highest heaven.
45:38 The ladder actually represents the two natures that Jesus had.
45:43 Jesus had the human nature.
45:46 In other words, He was established on earth,
45:49 but the ladder reached to the highest heaven,
45:51 which means that He was God.
45:53 He was God, and He was man.
45:56 Therefore He could be the ladder, because He has
45:58 the top and the bottom.
46:00 The problem with Mary is that Mary is only human.
46:03 The problem is with the top of the ladder.
46:07 Only one who is God can represent us before God.
46:11 And only one who is man can adequately present
46:14 our case before God.
46:16 In other words, Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth.
46:19 And as Jesus overcame sin in His sinful nature,
46:23 through the power of the divine nature, Scripture
46:27 in 2 Peter 1:4 says that we can have the divine nature,
46:30 and we can also overcome sin.
46:33 Basically, the idea of the immaculate conception,
46:38 and the idea that Jesus came into this world through Mary,
46:42 who was immaculate, and therefore she brought Jesus
46:47 into the world immaculate, is that it separates Mary
46:51 and Jesus from us.
46:53 It primarily separates Jesus from us.
46:55 There's a broken link between Jesus and us.
46:59 In other words, He had a different nature than we have.
47:01 What hope is there for us to overcome as He overcame?
47:05 What hope is there for us to follow His example,
47:08 if He had a different nature than we have,
47:11 than His brothers and His sisters have?
47:13 So you see that this idea of the immaculate conception of Mary,
47:18 and therefore bringing Jesus immaculately with the nature
47:21 of Adam before the fall into the world,
47:23 has serious theological implications.
47:25 The implications are whether you are able to overcome sin
47:30 or not in your life.
47:33 Now notice this statement from The Desire of Ages, that classic
47:37 book on Jesus, the Redeemer of the world.
47:41 It's actually a beautiful biography of Jesus.
47:43 Pages 311 and 312.
48:08 Now what does it mean that it needed to reach the earth
48:13 to the last step? Now she explains:
48:22 Not where Adam was.
48:34 Isn't that wonderful?
48:37 And then she quotes Romans 8.
49:09 You say, Well, Pastor that is an impossible goal.
49:13 So what you're saying is that God gives us
49:15 impossible goals to reach.
49:17 He says, be perfect, but I know that you really can't.
49:21 Is that the way God operates? Absolutely not!
49:25 You know that very famous text.
49:30 It's one of my favorites.
49:31 Philippians 4:13. We've quoted that one before. That text says:
49:39 I can do most things through Christ who strengthens me.
49:44 Lets try again. I can do some things through
49:51 Christ who strengthens me.
49:53 No! The text says: I can do all things except overcome sin
49:59 through Christ who strengthens me.
50:01 That's not what the text says.
50:04 The text says that we can do all things through
50:08 Christ who strengthens us.
50:10 In other words, we can overcome sin by the power that God
50:15 gives us in Jesus Christ.
50:17 We also, in the likeness of sinful flesh, if we depend
50:22 upon God as Jesus depended upon His Father, we can be more
50:26 than overcomers through Jesus Christ who loved us
50:30 and gave His life for us.
50:31 The reason why we haven't reached that goal is because
50:36 we do not fulfill the conditions of abiding in Jesus.
50:40 Abide in Me and I in you.
50:44 When we submit ourselves to Jesus every moment, every day,
50:48 and the Holy Spirit leads our life, we gain victory over sin.
50:52 But the trouble is we're dedicating so much time
50:54 in front of the television.
50:56 Do you actually think that that's going to give
50:59 us victory over sin?
51:00 We dedicate so much of our time to running to and fro,
51:05 in things that are not bad in themselves.
51:07 You know, in our work we're so busy.
51:10 We're so caught up in the routine of life that we barely
51:13 have time to even think about Jesus in the course
51:16 of our daily activities.
51:17 And, of course, if we're not in tune with Jesus at every moment
51:21 of every day, there's not going to be victory over sin.
51:25 I would like to bring my remarks to a conclusion by reading
51:30 an amazing statement.
51:32 This statement is found in The Great Controversy, page 623,
51:37 and it's shaken up more than one person, I must warn you.
51:42 Listen to this: Now... when? Now.
51:49 That was a weak now, but that's alright.
52:05 And now notice how she describes the perfection of Jesus.
52:19 Not even by what? Not even by a thought
52:25 could Jesus be brought to yield...
52:27 And then she goes to speak about us. She says:
52:43 See that? Some sinful desire is cherished?
52:51 Where's the problem?
52:53 We cherish sin. And what does sin do?
52:56 It asserts it's what? its power.
52:58 She continues saying:
53:28 And now comes the amazing conclusion of this statement.
53:45 Ellen White says this:
53:46 That's an amazing statement!
53:47 Not even in what? Not even in thought, Ellen White says,
53:54 could Jesus be felled by the power of the enemy;
53:56 much less in action.
53:59 And she says that this is the condition in which God's people
54:03 will be found who will go through the time of trouble;
54:07 the time of trouble such as the world has never
54:11 seen in its history.
54:13 Where God's people will face the death decree.
54:17 Where God's people will go through the experience of
54:20 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
54:21 You know, this is one of my favorite stories of Scripture.
54:24 Let me ask you, was the strength and the loyalty of these three
54:30 young men fixed in their minds? Yes, it was.
54:34 Had they grown in sanctification?
54:36 You know, you read the first chapter.
54:39 In the first chapter their lives were not in danger.
54:42 The cook's life was, because if they were skinny,
54:47 and they were weak, Nebuchadnezzar was going to
54:49 say to the cook, Hey, how come these guys are skinny?
54:52 And why isn't their minds working the way
54:53 it's supposed to work?
54:54 You know, their lives were not in danger.
54:58 But they decided that they would remain loyal to God.
55:02 They would be faithful.
55:03 They would be obedient to God.
55:04 And so they asked for water, and they asked for pulse,
55:09 or for vegetables to eat.
55:11 They made their decision in a small trial, in a small test.
55:15 And they made that the model of their life.
55:17 Conquer in the small things that when the great trials come
55:21 we can also overcome.
55:23 And so then we're told that they had to face
55:26 a much great trial.
55:28 And they had grown in their spiritual experience.
55:31 In fact, we're told in Daniel 3 that they faced
55:36 the image of the beast.
55:38 As Nebuchadnezzar for awhile, lived as a beast, you know.
55:41 So he raises up an image.
55:42 He commands everyone to worship the image which he has raised.
55:47 And whoever does not worship the image will be killed.
55:50 And there's a small remnant that says, We will not worship.
55:53 Let me ask you, Is this a pre-figuring
55:55 of the time of trouble?
55:56 It most certainly is.
55:57 You know Revelation 13.
55:59 It says in Revelation 13 that the beast will raise his image.
56:03 He will command everyone to worship the image to the beast.
56:07 And whoever does not worship will be what? will be killed.
56:10 Is God going to have a people who will stand and will say,
56:15 We will be faithful to God though the heavens fall.
56:19 Though we lose our lives, we will be faithful to the Lord.
56:23 Absolutely! Because they have grown in sanctification.
56:27 If you want to read a fantastic little book,
56:29 it's one of the less famous books of Ellen White.
56:31 It's called The Sanctified Life.
56:33 Beautiful little book!
56:35 It deals with Daniel.
56:37 It deals with John the apostle, one of the sons of thunder.
56:40 If you want to see how he grew in grace, and in the knowledge
56:43 of Jesus. It's amazing how it's described in that book.
56:46 So it's time for us to get down to business folks.
56:49 This idea of the immaculate conception is really
56:52 an immaculate deception, because it separates Jesus from us.
56:58 It breaks the link between Jesus and us, because it makes Jesus
57:02 different than us.
57:04 So Mary had to be different so that Jesus could be different.
57:08 And a different Jesus cannot help us in the plight in which
57:13 we are found now.
57:16 So may God bless us and help us, through His power,
57:21 to gain the victory over sin.


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Revised 2015-03-19